Nov. 24, 2008

Rice redshirt freshman Travis Bradshaw has been named the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week, as announced by the conference office today.

Bradshaw was honored for his efforts in the Owls 35-10 win over Marshall last Saturday. The former walkon who played at Cy Fair High School was credited with 11 tackles, recovered a fumble and broke up a pass to spearhead the Owls top defensive effort since their 10-7 defeat of Houston to open the 2004 season. Rice held Marshall to the fewest points by an opponent since they held the Cougars to just seven, and the Herd was held to just 268 yards of offense, the lowest total since Houston was held to 221 in the 2004 opener at Reliant Stadium.

In four starts this season, two as a replacement for an injured Andrew Sendejo at safety and the last two after moving into the KAT position, Bradshaw has topped double-figures in tackles each time (12 vs. Southern Miss, Tulane and Army; 11 vs. Marshall). He is second on the team with 69 tackles on the year.

The Owls and Houston will meet this Saturday in the 32nd annual Bayou Bucket showdown, with kickoff set for 2:30 at Rice Stadium. Tickets are on sale now at Riceowls.com or by calling (713) 522-Owls.